AUSTRALIA
news.com.au
Toby Mann
Australian Associated Press
A former Marist Brother accused of sexually abusing young boys at Catholic boarding schools was a strict disciplinarian who used violence on his alleged victims, a court has heard.
Brett O’Connor was a dormitory master at a school on Sydney’s North Shore when he allegedly began indecently assaulting a 12-year-old boy under his charge and left his alleged victim frozen in fear in his bed, Sydney’s District Court heard on Wednesday.
He has pleaded not guilty to 18 charges relating to the alleged abuse of three victims at two schools in the late 1980s, crown prosecutor David Patch said.
“The accused was a very strict disciplinarian and sometimes used violence on the boys,” Mr Patch said.
One alleged victim was hit with a cricket bat, the court heard.
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